The Jones County varsity football team advancing to the state playoffs for the first time in eight years,

the softball team getting back to the playoffs after a year’s absence, Clifton Ridge’s boys and girls sweeping basketball championships, Gray Station’s baseball team grabbing a baseball crown, and region titles by a couple of Jones County track stars were among the sports highlights in 2012 in Jones County.

The Greyhounds were 7-3 in the regular season this past fall to advance to the state football playoffs for the first time since 2004. They lost in the opening round to Glynn Academy, but it was a sign that the work to improve the program is paying off.

The young Lady Hounds struggled early in the season but showed improvement down the stretch and finished second in the Region 2-AAAAA tournament. They downed Glynn Academy in the first round of the state playoffs before being swept by Whitewater, which wound up third in the state, in the second round.

The sports year began with the Jones County varsity basketball teams showing improvement over the previous season, with both making it to the second round of the region tournament before being eliminated. The boys wound up 12-14 in Dennis Woolfolk’s first year as coach, and the girls were 13-13 in Lance Pittman’s second season.

The Clifton Ridge girls and boys, meanwhile, both won the Central Georgia Middle School Athletic League basketball titles by downing Manchester in their championship games. The girls were coached by Daniel Wright and the boys by Charles David.